A Storm In Sotoba
by CorpseDemonxX
Summary: A stormy season has hit Sotoba; ruining their normal hot weather. However, the rain isn't the only thing clouding Natsuno and Tohru's spirits as they have to choose between friends or themselves. Will they break apart or will this rain bring them closer than they've ever been before? Love, Lies & Heartbreak within.. as well as a smidgen of Yaoi. MxN, TxN, RxT, etc.
1. Chapter 1

**Full Summary:** _"A stormy season has hit Sotoba; ruining their normal hot weather. However, the rain isn't the only thing clouding Natsuno and Tohru's spirits as they have to choose between friends or themselves. Will they break apart or will this rain bring them closer than they've ever been before?"__  
_

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Sotoba was known for its' unbearably hot summers and sunny days, but today was different; Clouds plagued the usually blue skies of the small village while rain drops fell from them at a steady pace. Most villagers were prepared for this sudden change in the weather, apparently village life made you a master weather forecaster or something just from a change in wind direction... yet others weren't so lucky.

One particular boy had been completely caught out in the newly developing storm. He'd stayed late at school to study for his college entrance exams and had just missed the last bus that he needed to catch to get home. So now he had to walk in the pouring rain – or at least he thought he did.

"Hey Natsuno!"

The boy turned his head to see where the familiar voice was coming from.

_'Tohru-Chan?'_  
A passing car slowed to a stop next to Natsuno.

"Hey buddy!"

A slightly older looking boy stuck his head out of the drivers window slightly trying not to get his scruffy blonde hair wet.

"Why are you out here in the rain?"

Natsuno seemed to stay quiet for a moment, _what a stupid question_ he thought _it's not like I'm out here out of choice..._

Tohru gestured to the back seat of his car, "C'mon, I'll give you a lift home if you'd like?"

Natsuno was going to refuse until the rain got heavier; making up his mind for him. He opened the car's rear door and slid inside placing his bag next to him before closing it again.

"So, why were you out in the rain?"

Tohru was watching Natsuno in his rear-view mirror with a friendly smile on his face, but it wasn't him who asked the question. One of the local nurses was in the car with him already and had turned back to face Natsuno while she was speaking to him. Natsuno didn't know her that well, but he'd heard a lot about her from Tohru.

"I was studying for my college entrance exams..."

Ritsuko smiled warmly,

"Oh... I'd heard from Tohru that you were talking about leaving the village as soon as you could, why is that?"

Natsuno glanced out of the car window, _why do these people always have to ask questions? Aren't their own lives exciting enough?_ He decided to stay silent, maybe she'd get the message that he didn't want to talk.

"I wouldn't bother talking to Natsuno about that kinda stuff Ritsuko"

Ritsuko looked back at Tohru again,

"Hm?"

Natsuno started to space out without meaning to, he hated listening to people talking when it didn't concern something important. He was far more focused on the rain that was running down the window.

Several minutes seemed to pass with Tohru and Ritsuko making casual conversation with each other. Natsuno watched them from the back-seat quietly, there was something about Ritsuko that he didn't like but he couldn't quite figure out what it was. Maybe it was because Tohru talked to her about everything, _why is she so special anyway?_ Natsuno had talked to Tohru about moving away from the village in confidence, he didn't expect Tohru to be the sort of person to spread things around so easily. It irritated him.

* * *

Tohru stopped outside of the Ozaki Clinic, the place where Ritsuko worked as a nurse.

"Well Tohru, thanks for dropping me off at work, you did pretty well with your driving today."

Ritsuko got out of the car quietly making sure not to disturb Natsuno who was now dozing in the back.

"Thanks for supervising me today Ritsuko, I really appreciate it!"

Tohru seemed to be beaming with pride at her statement, while Ritsuko simply smiled and waved as she made her way inside quickly trying to avoid getting too wet in the rain.

Tohru sighed like a lovesick puppy as he watched her go inside the clinic but he soon snapped out of it when Natsuno reached forward and tugged on his hair.

"Ow! Oh, I guess you're awake now huh?"

Tohru turned to face Natsuno and rubbed his head slightly,

"You know it's not nice to pull people's hair..."

Natsuno grumbled quietly,

"Then don't keep me hanging around when I wanna go home..."

Tohru chuckled,

"Fine, Fine... Just give me a second..."

He turned the car around and headed for Natsuno's house, it wasn't that far away but it wasn't exactly close which gave them time to talk.

"Hey Natsuno?"

Tohru broke the silence between them,

"Mh..?"

"Do you think... You could help me with something?"

"Depends what it is really..."

Tohru stayed quiet for a moment, which was pretty unusual for him,

"Tohru-Chan?"

"O-Oh.. I was wondering.. Do you think Ritsuko would want to go on a drive with me this weekend?"

Natsuno looked confused,

"Wasn't she on a drive with you just a few minutes ago?"

"Yeah, but I wanted to make this into more of a.. a date."

Natsuno went quiet, he didn't like where this was going at all.

"Natsuno?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea, she's a good deal older than you y'know? And I think she's interested in someone else anyway..."

Natsuno didn't need to see Tohru's face to know that he was upset,

"I don't want you to get hurt Tohru..."

Tohru remained silent for a moment before speaking again.

"If you're jealous Natsuno just say so"

Natsuno wasn't sure how to react,

"What do you-"

"You're jealous of me and Ritsuko aren't you?"

Natsuno hadn't ever seen Tohru like this, but he sure as hell wasn't going to stand for it,

"Why the hell would I be jealous of you and her of all people?"

"Because you've only got a weird-ass stalker interested in you"

Natsuno was slightly hurt by Tohru's remarks, he was usually so kind and care-free, why was he being such an ass all of a sudden?

"You know I hate her Tohru-chan..."

"Sure, so you can't stand to see anyone else happy right?"

Natsuno didn't bother to reply to Tohru, he didn't want to make things any worse between them than it already was. Tohru pulled up outside Natsuno's house without saying another word. Natsuno got out of the car and put his bag back over his shoulder, he was about to turn and thank Tohru for the ride home but he'd already left.

* * *

Natsuno's mother greeted him in her usual fashion,

"How was your day at school honey?" she called out to him from the kitchen, obviously too busy to leave her cooking and come and see him.

"It was fine mom"

Natsuno took his shoes off and made his way through to the kitchen,

"What time are you planning dinner for? I need to study"

His mother took a moment and turned to face him,

"I'd say another hour yet, but shouldn't you take a break from all this studying?"

Natsuno shook his head,

"It's okay mom, I know what I'm doing..."

He made his way into his bedroom, passing his father on the way, who managed to greet him with a small grunt which Natsuno didn't even bother returning.

Natsuno went into his room and put his bag down beside his desk, taking out a notebook and a pencil before starting his studying again.

* * *

The only reason Natsuno studied so hard was because he wanted to leave Sotoba as soon as possible, he hated the small village and everything in it. Well, almost everything, there were a few things that he didn't mind so much. He was born and originally raised in the city by his parents, but his father had the marvellous idea of moving to a small village for a more peaceful and family-orientated life. _What a load of crap that was... _Natsuno couldn't stand it, the place was small, cramped and everyone wanted to know your business whatever it was. The villagers were non-stop gossipers, they really had nothing better to do with their pointless little lives. Oh, and there was one thing that bothered him more than anything else, as if on cue there was a small rustling sound outside of his window followed by a small squeak of a girl fearing she had been discovered. His so-called stalker, Megumi Shimizu. For some reason the girl had got it in mind that she loved him and that he would one day return her love or something. It was all so ridiculous, she'd sit outside his window every evening and try to watch him studying. It was creepy and disgusting.

"Natsuno, dinner's ready!"

Natsuno opened his window and glanced outside, just catching site of his pink haired stalker ducking behind one of the bushes. He sighed and closed it again, making sure it was locked tight – he didn't want her getting any funny ideas after all.

"I'm coming mom"

Little did he know that this evening Megumi was thinking of trying something even worse than usual.

The family had sat down to eat their meal when there was a knock at the door,

"Who could that be at this hour?"

Natsuno's father got up from the table and went to answer the door while his mother carried on eating quietly, Natsuno couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable.

Then he heard it, that annoying shrill voice of his stalker, Shimizu.

"I-Is Yuuki in? I heard that he lives here and I'm a good friend of his..."

Followed by his father of course, but it's not like he knew anything about her being a stalker,

"Uh, yes he does live here, maybe you should come in and talk to him"

Natsuno bolted up from the table, he wasn't having Shimizu in his house – never!

"Dad!"

Natsuno's father turned to face him and give him a reluctant smile,

"Oh Natsuno, this young lady was just telling me how good a friend she was to you, I don't remember you talking about her before..."

Natsuno was about to protest when his mother followed him to the door,

"Oh Natsuno, she's very pretty..."

He knew where this was going... The usual 'parents assuming any girl that you know is your girlfriend' thing. That had to be one of most sickening things that he could imagine right about now.

Natsuno's father was about to open the door a little bit more and let her in, but Natsuno wouldn't let that happen, he stood between his father and Shimizu with a rather fierce look on his face.

"Natsuno?"

His mother looked at him,

"What's wrong? Are we embarrassing you in front of your friend?"

Natsuno shook his head slightly,

"Not at all Mother, but I won't let you invite her in here"

His father seemed to look at Megumi apologetically,

"She's the stalker I was telling you about, you know, the one that sits outside of my window every night?"

Megumi flinched at this statement and took a step back from the door, his mother looked at her,

"Is that true young lady?"

Before Megumi could speak Natsuno cut in,

"Her name's Shimizu. Megumi Shimizu, not 'young lady'... she's nothing of the sort..."

Natsuno's parents laughed together,

"Well then Miss. Shimizu, I suggest you leave"

and with that, his father closed the door on her rather abruptly. For once, Natsuno was fairly happy with what his father had done while they made their way back into the kitchen to enjoy their dinner and discuss his 'stalker issues'.

* * *

Megumi still stood in front of the door to Yuuki's house in shock. She couldn't quite comprehend how quickly everything had just happened. But she knew how embarrassed and furious she was, she wouldn't stand for this, not by a long shot. She turned on the heel of her boots and walked back to her own home, all the while thinking up a plan to get back at Yuuki somehow, if she couldn't have him – nobody could.

* * *

**A/N:** _Well, that's the first chapter done!~ I hope it wasn't too boring for you... I'm not used to writing fan fiction as it is but I wanted to try and get this idea down before it went out of my head XD_

_I'll probably keep writing this despite it being popular or not - but reviews are still welcome!~_

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview:**  
_Natsuno regrets making Tohru angry and decides to apologise & support him by asking Ritsuko out on a date for him. Will Tohru forgive Natsuno? How will Ritsuko react to getting such a request? & What exactly is Megumi planning?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Natsuno awoke that morning to the seemingly unfamiliar sound of rain on his bedroom window. He sat up slowly and rubbed the sleep away from his eyes.

"Natsuno?"

His mother was calling him, did he sleep in?

"Yeah?"

He called back to her, sliding out of bed and looking for some clothes to wear.

"Did you remember that you were supposed to be visiting the Mutou's today?"

Natsuno stopped in his tracks, of course he remembered... He was supposed to be visiting Tohru to help him out with a school project; sure Tohru was older than him but it didn't mean he was smarter.

"..Natsuno?"

"Uh, yeah I'm getting ready to leave now!"

Natsuno grabbed a shirt and some trousers and sighed. He'd get soaked if he went outside in the rain, but he didn't have a coat. It might sound irresponsible, but his father had pretty much convinced him that the sun was always shining during the day in Sotoba. Hopefully he'd be able to find an umbrella somewhere in the house.

He got dressed and made his way into the hall,

"Hey mom, do we have any umbrellas?"

His mother emerged from the kitchen, obviously busy as she made her way towards his father's workshop.

"No, I don't think we do, your father took the only one we have when he left, I'm rather busy here Natsuno..."

Natsuno got the message, he'd just have to go without, after-all work comes first in this household.

* * *

"I'm heading out now mom!"

Natsuno made his way outside of his home, he couldn't find an umbrella since his father had taken the only one to visit the local corner store – typical. He'd grabbed an old school bag that he didn't use any more and held it over his head as he made his way towards Tohru's house, sure it might look dumb but at least it was keeping the rain off slightly, right?

His thoughts seemed to wander back to the events of yesterday as he ran through the quiet streets, why did Tohru get so mad at him? Was it because of not supporting him asking Ritsuko out on a date? Natsuno sighed in frustration as the rain picked up in pace, surely that couldn't be all could it? Whatever it was, Natsuno didn't want to risk losing Tohru as a friend.

* * *

Natsuno was rather grateful that the Mutou's had a porch, at least he could shelter from the rain whilst he waited for someone to answer the door. He knocked on the door and waited patiently, examining the old bag that he was carrying slightly. He didn't have any time to eat this morning so he'd just grabbed a sandwich that his mother had been making, he hasn't asked her if he could take it, but he was hungry so it'd have to be okay whether it was convenient or not.

After a short wait the door was opened by Aoi, Tohru's younger sister. She was carefree like him and greeted Natsuno with a cheery smile,

"Hey Natsuno! Tohru said you were coming over, you didn't get too wet did you?"

She stepped back to welcome him inside,Natsuno entered and shook his head slightly,

"Not too much..."

He appreciated how welcoming the Mutou's were towards him, but he still didn't really like talking to them unless he had to. Tamotsu raised his hand slightly in a brief welcome as he walked past him, Natsuno nodded quietly.

"...Tohru's up in his room right?"

Aoi closed the door and glanced outside the window at the rain,

"Hm? Oh yeah! As always."

She chuckled quietly and motioned towards the stairs,

"You can head up if you'd like"

Natsuno didn't need any more of an invitation than that, he took his shoes off and made his way up the staircase quietly, what would he say to Tohru? Surely it would be a bit of an awkward atmosphere after yesterday...

He arrived at Tohru's room but took a moment to think over how to start a conversation with him, should he apologise or something? Natsuno wasn't used to having friends so it's not like he knew how to deal with an argument whether it was over something petty or serious either way.

He sighed before pushing open the door,

"Tohru-chan?"

It was a sight that he expected; Tohru laid of the floor of his room, video game controller in hand and eyes glued to the TV screen. Tohru glanced back at him and smiled as if nothing had happened.

Natsuno couldn't help but find that strange.

"Uh-"

Tohru paused his video game and sat up, stretching his arms above his head,

"You don't need to say it Natsuno"

Natsuno sat down next to him on the floor, he stayed quiet and watched as Tohru crawled over to a drawer and rummaged around for something,

"I'm sorry about yesterday, I was totally out of line.."

Natsuno wasn't really sure how to react, shouldn't he be the one apologising?

"It's... okay I guess, I'm sorry to"

"I thought I told you it was okay?"

Tohru turned back to face him and smiled,

"Really it's fine."

He ruffled Natsuno's hair playfully and went back to searching for whatever it was that he was looking for. Natsuno would usually protest or grumble and fix his hair when someone did that to him he hated it, but something was different about Tohru... he actually liked it when he did things like that. Maybe he'd been subject to it for so long that he was just getting used to it? Or maybe-

"Ah-ha!"

Natsuno was snapped out of his thoughts as Tohru pulled a video game cartridge and seemed to strike a heroic pose for finding it.

"I wanted to show you this!"

Tohru seemed so excited,

"It's finally a game we can play together!"  
Natsuno smiled just a tiny bit,

"Okay..."

_Was it bad to find it kind of cute when Tohru was like this? He was like a child when he was excited, so bouncy and happy..._

Tohru swapped the cartridges over in the console and plugged in a second controller before handing it to Natsuno.

"Do you know how to play?"

Natsuno thought for a second, he'd only ever really watched Tohru play video games, he couldn't really play them himself... he'd usually just read a book or study.

"Uh..."

He glanced down at the controller, he didn't even know what any of the buttons meant... it looked like a mess of colourful circles and weird shapes to him. Tohru could tell he was struggling already,

"It's okay, I'll teach you what they mean"

Tohru chuckled, it seemed kind of strange having to teach someone how to play a video game that was so simple & easy to play, all you had to do was hold down one button to go & use the directions to steer. He leaned forward and reset the console.

"Okay, so you press this button here.."

Natsuno watched as Tohru pointed at several buttons and explained what they did in this game. It did seem rather simple now that he'd explained it, sounded pretty fun too.

* * *

"Oh no, again?"

Tohru stared at the screen in disbelief as Natsuno won another round of the game they were playing.

"How the heck did you get so good so quick?"

Natsuno couldn't help but feel proud of himself, he'd never played a video game properly before yet he was beating someone who would lay around playing them all day.

"I guess I'm just naturally good at stuff, unlike you"

It took a while for Tohru to realise that Natsuno was poking fun at him but when he realised he immediately grabbed him and put him in a playful headlock.

"Oi!"

Natsuno was slightly surprised but chuckled none the less, he tried to break free from Tohru's grip but couldn't quite manage it.

"Say that again!"

Tohru laughed and gave Natsuno a noogie, deliberately messing up his hair.

Natsuno grabbed Tohru's arm, still trying to break his grip,

"Okay, Okay I'm sorry!"

For the first time in a while, Natsuno felt that he was enjoying himself. No matter how uncomfortable the headlock was, he was enjoying playing video games & relaxing rather than studying like he usually would. It felt like Tohru was the only one that he could really let himself go around and he was loving every minute of it.

Tohru let Natsuno go after a bit,

"Good, I don't want you thinking you're better than me now!"

They both laughed quietly, a thought suddenly re-entered Natsuno's mind,

"Hey.. Tohru, about yesterday.."

He seemed rather solemn all of a sudden,

"What is it?"

Tohru still smiled happily like he always did,

"I.. uh.."

Natsuno couldn't help but feel slightly awkward,

"If it makes you happy then.. I'll support you.."

Tohru looked confused,

"Support me with what? Hey, is that another insult?"

He went to grab Natsuno again but Natsuno deliberately pulled away from him this time,

"I'm being serious Tohru-Chan, if it makes you happy, I'll support you on asking Ritsuko out on a date.."

It seemed to take Tohru a moment to process what had just been said,

"You mean that?"

Natsuno nodded slightly,

"Sure.. whatever.."

Tohru suddenly lunged forward and pulled Natsuno into a hug,

"Oh my God man, you're the best!"

Natsuno gasped slightly, _what the heck is he doing?_

"C-Cut it out with the fictional affection already!"

Tohru seemed to hold him even tighter. Natsuno felt strange, he didn't know what was going on. He felt hot, he felt sick, but.. he felt good? He felt comfortable, content.. like he could just hold Tohru too..

"Thanks Natsuno.. I really appreciate this.."

Tohru pulled back from the hug but seemed to stare right at Natsuno.

"T-Tohru-Chan..?"

Tohru smiled, it seemed softer than usual as he gently slid a hand up to Natsuno's cheek. Natsuno froze at his touch but he was still enjoying the feeling, he'd usually hate it when someone touched him; even if it was his mother but this felt so good for some reason.

Natsuno closed his eyes slightly, he had no idea why but he felt like he should as Tohru's face seemed to be moving closer to his own slowly.

"Natsuno..."

Natsuno closed his eyes completely.

"TOHRU!"

They both seemed to jolt back to reality, Aoi was calling him from downstairs. Natsuno shuffled away from him quickly while Tohru stood up and went to his bedroom door.

"W-What is it Aoi?"

"You've got a phone call! I think it's from that nurse you like!"

"I'll be right there!"

Tohru ran downstairs while Natsuno flinched at what he'd overheard; he just realised what had almost happened. He covered his mouth almost instinctively and felt his cheeks burning. _Were __we__ about to kiss..? _

He stood up and without thinking began to pace the room, he felt so strange, so sick yet so good, what was going on? Guys can't love each other, it's gross.. and besides, Tohru's straight and he was straight, wasn't he? Of course Tohru was, he liked Ritsuko. But who did _he_like? He sat on the edge of the bed as he thought, there's never really been anybody that he liked.. other than Tohru, but he didn't like him like that, did he?

Natsuno sighed as he buried his face in his hands and tried to think.

_What the hell am I doing?_

He laid back on Tohru's bed and closed his eyes.

Natsuno didn't realise how much time had passed until he was snapped out of his thoughts by the all-too-familiar sound of a knock on the door. He sat up quickly and put a hand to his head, he was about to grab his bag and make his way downstairs until he heard a voice. _Her _voice.

"Ritsuko's here..?"

He suddenly felt sick. His stomach felt tight, the thought of Tohru being with her made him feel terrible inside. But why?

Natsuno quietly moved away from the bed and made his way to the top of the stairs where he listened carefully to the conversation that was unfolding on the floor below.

"Thanks for coming over Ritsuko, what did you want to talk about?"

"No, no, thank you for inviting me..."

Natsuno clenched a fist slightly, she's so sickly sweet to him..

"I just wanted to talk to you about the offer you made me earlier on the phone"

Offer? What offer? He didn't ask her out already did he? It was so difficult for Natsuno to resist going downstairs and pulling Tohru away from her.

"Oh you mean the date?"

Natsuno's feeling of nausea returned, he was going to lose Tohru to her wasn't he?

"Yes... I'm happy that you offered to take me out but.."

"But what..?"

"I hope you don't think of me badly.. but I'm just not interested in you that way."

It went silent downstairs. Did she just reject him?

"I'd love to be friends with you Tohru. But there's already.. someone else that I like."

Natsuno began to edge towards the next step down.

"It's okay, I'm sorry for asking."

"Please don't feel bad Tohru, I just didn't know how else to tell you."

There was a familiar light chuckle,

"It's fine really, I guess you'd better go huh?"

"Yes.. I'll see you another time okay Tohru?"

Natsuno heard the door open again,

"See you later Ritsuko"

The door closed quietly and there was a faint sigh followed by a mumbled,

"Shit..."

Natsuno wasn't sure how to feel. In one way he was glad that his friend had just been rejected, at least it meant that he didn't have to worry about Ritsuko taking him away from him. But on the other hand, Tohru's liked her for a long time, he probably feels really hurt and upset right now.

Natsuno decided it would probably be a good idea to pretend he hadn't heard the conversation and moved quickly but quietly back into the bedroom. He sat on the edge of Tohru's bed and picked up the old bag he'd been using as shelter from the rain, he'd completely forgotten to eat today, maybe that's why he kept feeling sick now and then. He sighed and pulled the sandwich out of his bag before he ate it.

Tohru came back in the room after a bit and glanced at Natsuno with a small smile. He was obviously trying to put on a brave face in front of him. Natsuno stood up and made his way over to him.

"Tohru-chan?"

He knew it'd be better to pretend he had no idea what was going rather than make it obvious that he was listening in on Tohru's private conversation.

"She blew me off for some other guy..."

He sighed quietly,

"Figures..."

Natsuno put a supportive hand no Tohru's shoulder,

"It'll be okay.."

Tohru smiled slightly,

"Yeah I know"

He chuckled,

"Just a part of life right?"

Natsuno nodded,

"Live and learn buddy... Live and learn."

_It seemed like Tohru had forgotten what had happened between them earlier..._

* * *

_**A/N:** Hopefully the second chapter wasn't too bad 3 I'm actually having fun writing this! Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed ot :)_

_Next chapter soon...  
_

* * *

**_Next Chapter Preview_**

_Megumi finally thinks up a plan and puts it into action._****_Will it tear Natsuno & Tohru apart? Or pull them closer to each other than ever before?_**_  
_**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It was unusual for Megumi to skip out on her nightly trips to Natsuno's home. Whatever the weather, she would make a point of sitting in the bushes by his window to see if she could at least catch a glimpse of him in the evening. Last night however, was the first exception she had ever made.

Megumi had a plan. A plan that she found so devious that she couldn't help but giggle aloud to herself. She'd wait outside Natsuno's home first thing this morning and follow him during the day to observe what he was doing. That way she would surely find something that she could use to make him jealous or hurt him; or even better, both!

For the first time in days Sotoba was seeing a reprieve from the early morning rain. Megumi thought that fate must've been on her side as she quietly moved through the bushes to her usual spot outside of Natsuno's bedroom window. She sat down on the cold earth and made herself comfortable, she might have to wait a while before Natsuno left his home – but she knew it would be worth it in the end.

"I'll see you later mom!"

Megumi jolted at the sound of Natsuno's voice, she'd almost fallen asleep waiting for him. How dare he keep a lady like her waiting for so long! She peered around the tree she usually hid behind to get a good view of which direction she was heading in before following him as quietly as she could.

It was lucky Natsuno decided to walk on foot today, if he was on his bike Megumi wouldn't have stood a chance of being able to keep up with him. Of course now and then Natsuno would glance behind him leading Megumi to take action and hide so she wasn't discovered. If he knew she was following him he might not go to his original destination; Megumi didn't want to risk that, she needed to know what he spent his personal time doing...

She took a moment to look closely at what he was wearing, it might help her know what was going on. He looked like he was in casual clothes, so he probably wasn't going towards the school, but it looked like he was carrying his school bag with him. Maybe he had to return some books? She wasn't sure, but she'd sure as hell find out.

Natsuno remained blissfully unaware of Megumi following his movements that morning. Although that was probably because he'd decided to take his MP3 Player with him for once, he usually only listened to music while he studied but it didn't mean he couldn't any other time that he felt like it. Natsuno was trying to make the most of the sun shining for the first time in a few days. He wasn't one for the hot weather but he had to admit that he was starting to miss the sun after several days of seemingly non-stop rain.

Megumi was beginning to recognise the route that Natsuno was taking, it looked like he was heading towards the Mutou's residence, but she couldn't be sure until he arrived.

Sure enough Shimizu's instincts were right, after a short time Natsuno had arrived at the Mutou's home. Tohru was out in the garden helping his sister in the garden. Megumi hid out of sight, but just in ear shot of Natsuno so she could hear his conversation.

Natsuno slipped his MP3 & earphones into his trouser pocket as he approached Tohru's home.

"Tohru-Chan!"

Aoi and Tohru both glanced up at the familiar sound. Aoi smiled and gave a small wave while Tohru stopped what he was doing and came over to greet Natsuno.

"Natsuno? I wasn't expecting you today."

Tohru seemed somewhat sceptical, Natsuno wasn't the sort of person to only come over if he needed something, but he wasn't the sort of person to come over and visit for no reason either... it was rather out of character for him. Natsuno rubbed the back of his neck and glanced away for a moment. Tohru smiled cheerfully.

"I uh.. wanted to check up on you after yesterday"

Tohru tilted his head and feigned confusion,

"What about yesterday?"

Natsuno returned eye-contact with Tohru again.

"You know.. the thing with Ritsuko?"

Tohru's smile fell slightly,

"Oh.. that..."

An awkward silence seemed to fall between them. Aoi sighed and came between them,

"Tohru, I think what Natsu means is 'are you feeling okay'?

Natsuno couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed, he didn't need other people to speak for him... and although he wanted to know if he was okay after being turned down, Natsuno didn't just mean that, he wanted to talk about the _other_ thing that almost happened yesterday. Tohru remained quiet for a moment longer before he smiled like he usually did.

"Of course I'm okay! I wasn't really expecting her to say yes anyway..."

Natsuno nodded just a bit, he wasn't really sure what to do or say in this sort of situation considering he hadn't ever been rejected from a relationship, although it's not like he'd ever been in one. His thoughts started to wander slightly as Aoi playfully patted her brother on the shoulder and praised him for remaining positive. Does being in a relationship mean that you want to spend the rest of your life with that person? Natsuno almost cringed at the thought, other people always dragged him down whether they were family or friends. Although, Tohru on the other hand..-

"Oi!"

Tohru waved his hand in front of Natsuno's eyes,

"You spacing out or what?"

Natsuno blinked slightly, returning to the current moment in time,

"Huh? Oh um, sorry.."

Tohru chuckled and ruffled his hair playfully, Natsuno smacked his hand away and grumbled quietly,

"I was gonna come over and study here for a while since dad's got a big project going on.. is that okay?"

He shrugged one shoulder slightly, gesturing to the bag that was full of school books,

"Ah.. I have to go out today with the family.."

Tohru frowned slightly,

"A family outing to a relatives house"

"Oh, okay..."

Natsuno nodded as if to try and hide his disappointment, he'd really wanted to talk about what was going on between them, or if it was some kind of weird joke or something.

"I might as well go home and try to study there instead"

Tohru smiled again,

"Sure, we should be home later tonight so you can come over tomorrow if you'd like?"

Natsuno didn't want to sound too eager so he merely mumbled an "We'll see" before turning on his heel and heading away from the Mutou's residence and back towards his own home.

A small smirked graced Megumi's lips, so _that's_ where he goes in his spare time... She waited until Natsuno passed her hiding place in the bushes and walked towards her own home instead. It was hard to resist following him and saying hello, but she didn't want to make herself look suspicious, Natsuno was studying for college and was anything but stupid.

She glanced up at the sky, the storm clouds were returning so she picked up her pace slightly while thinking of a plan. If Natsuno and Tohru spent all their time together then she needed a way to get them away for each other and keep the attention on herself instead. Maybe she could get in the middle of them? No.. that would be way too difficult and it wouldn't really hurt Natsuno, it would just make him angry as usual.

Megumi made it home just before the rain started. She sighed quietly to herself and made her way into her bedroom, ignoring her mother and father bickering over what they should have for dinner tonight. Parents were so troublesome... It was one of the reasons that she wanted to leave Sotoba and move to a big city, that and she wanted to become famous; it was the only thing that she really shared in common with Natsuno.

She sat down at the small desk in her room and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. Maybe if she mapped it all out she could come up with something. She wrote a few notes at the top of the page and put her head down for a good 30 minutes before coming to a sudden realisation.

"I should make him jealous of me! That way he'd realise how much he wanted me!"

She giggled quietly as her mother knocked on her bedroom door.

"Megumi, dinner's ready."

She pushed her chair back from the desk and made her way out of her room and into the kitchen before sitting at the table with her parents.

"Hey mom, do we have the Mutou's phone number?"

_The next day..._

Megumi knew that she had to look her best that day. She'd tied up her hair with some new bows that were decorated with skulls and wore a corset type dress with matching boots. She took a quick look at herself in the mirror to make sure she was satisfied before heading outside.

She'd carefully formulated a plan that would make Natsuno jealous and probably wreck his friendship with Tohru at the same time! It was pretty much guaranteed to work as long as she could get Tohru to be a good boy and play a part in it...

Tohru was waiting outside of his home, his parents had received a phone call late last night from Shimizu's parents saying that she needed to come over and discuss some homework with him. Tohru knew that was bullshit but he couldn't help but be curious about what Megumi wanted. He couldn't even remember her speaking to him before, it's not like they were in the same classes or anything, after all Tohru wasn't even in classes with Natsuno let alone her.

Megumi called out from a distance,

"Tohru!"

He smiled slightly and raised a hand,

"Hey Megumi!"

Megumi almost cringed, she hadn't given him permission to call her by her first name.. ah well, she had to get on his good side for this to work.

"I heard about what happened between you and the nurse"

She made sure to pull a sympathetic and innocent face,

"Uh.. you did?"

How did she know about that? Tohru couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed, did everyone know his business already? He looked away from her slightly.

"Come on Tohru this is Sotoba! Everyone knows what's going on around here, it's hard to keep anything secret.."

Tohru thought for a moment, she was right.. His parents could say something to their colleges or friends out of conversation and it would spread like wildfire around here.

Megumi smiled as sweetly as she could force herself to,

"I think you need friends that you can rely on Tohru..."

Natsuno wasn't having a very good time... he'd already been caught out in the rain the evening before and had been sent out by his parents to go and get some shopping for his mother. Why couldn't she do it herself? It's not like she was that busy or anything, his dad did most of the work any way, she just picked up the pieces and did odds & ends for him.

He hated to admit it but he was struggling quite a bit with the bags that he was carrying. Why couldn't his dad have picked a house that was closer to the local stores? It would've made their lives even easier.. Well, easier is the way his father usually described it any way.

Natsuno sighed slightly, he decided that it might be an idea to stop over at Tohru's house and check on his since he'd be passing on the way back to his own home. The Mutou's lived in a rather nice place in the village, they could walk or drive pretty much wherever they'd want and it'd be a short journey. Natsuno envied them slightly even though he still planned to leave the village one day.

"So whaddya say..?"

Natsuno stopped for a moment, that sounded like Shimizu didn't it? At Tohru's house? He walked around the corner slowly to a sight that he wished he hadn't ever seen.

Sure enough Shimizu was there. But she wasn't the only thing wrong, Tohru had his hands on her hips and they were.. kissing..?

* * *

**A/N:** _Sorry that this one took longer to publish than the last two, things have been a bit hectic lately.. Hope you enjoyed it! _

* * *

**_Next Chapter Preview_**

_How will Natsuno react to what he's just seen? Did Megumi's plan actually work?  
Quick warning: Next chapter is where the Yaoi starts... :)_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Natsuno back-tracked to the previous corner and decided to watch the situation play out from a short distance away. Why were Shimizu and Tohru so close? He watched carefully as they slowly parted from the kiss they had just shared; Megumi seemed to be smiling contentedly while Tohru was doing the same. Natsuno couldn't understand it, they hardly even talked or even saw each other around the village. Was this something Tohru was keeping from him? What about Ritsuko? He'd only just been rejected by her a couple of days ago! Even though he had no personal experience with relationships, he was sure that it took a lot longer than a few days to 'get over' someone, especially if you'd been crushing on them for a long time.

Shimizu giggled quietly as she seemingly glanced in Natsuno's direction. Did she know where he was? He moved back slightly to try and avoid her. Tohru was still smiling slightly as she mumbled a quiet, "See you tomorrow" before heading in Natsuno's direction. He managed to think fast and adjusted himself so that it would look like he hadn't scene either of them and was only just about to walk around the corner. As he turned the corner he made direct eye-contact with Megumi, a spiteful smirk formed on her lips as she passed him. He immediately had a feeling then that this was some kind-of set-up, if she didn't want him to see that then she wouldn't have reacted that way would she? There really was no depth that girl wouldn't sink to to be noticed by him...

Tohru was still looking in Megumi's direction as he noticed Natsuno approaching him.

"Hey Natsu-"

"Shut it Tohru!"

Tohru felt slightly hurt by the way Natsuno abruptly interrupted him, he was used to Natsuno being moody but what was his problem today? Tohru noticed that Natsuno's face looked rather red, maybe he wasn't feeling well?

"You okay buddy?"

Natsuno stopped in front of him for a moment,

"I need to go and put these bags down and we need to talk"

He forced his way passed Tohru and into the Mutou's home.

"N-Natsuno!"

Natsuno was already half way up the stairs towards Tohru's home before Tohru had even gotten in the front door.

"Natsuno!"

Tohru was getting rather frustrated, it wasn't often that he'd get annoyed with him but what was with this sudden attitude? ...Had he seen him and Megumi or something?

Natsuno dropped the bags on the ground, not really caring for their contents. He had no idea what was going on... For some reason he felt upset that Tohru would keep any of his relationships a secret from him, weren't they supposed to be friends? He sat on the edge of Tohru's bed and put his head in his hands. He felt strange... he couldn't describe the sensations he was having, but his chest seemed to feel loose and his heart was beating faster than usual. Maybe it was because he'd moved so quickly? But then why did his eyes feel prickly too? It almost felt like.. when you were going to cry?

Tohru almost fell over the bags in his doorway as he entered his room.

"Natsuno..."

Natsuno brushed his shirt sleeve across his eyes before he stood up again,

"What?"

"What do you mean what?"

Tohru made his way over to Natsuno and stood in front of him,

"What's your problem?"

Tohru snapped at Natsuno without meaning to but this was getting beyond irritating, Natsuno was acting like a moody teenage girl!

"You! You're my problem!"

Tohru was taken aback,

"Huh?"

Natsuno sighed,

"You.. You always call me by my first name when I told you not to do that!"

Tohru knew now that Natsuno was trying to change the direction of this conversation, they'd already been over this so many times in the past and he was pretty sure Natsuno had grown to like it personally, he'd stopped complaining about it a while ago too. Natsuno sat back down on the edge of the bed again while Tohru sat next to him.

"I'm sure that's not it"

"How do you know?"

Natsuno was staring rather intendedly at the floor.

"Because you're my friend Natsuno..."

A light, sarcastic sounding chuckle escaped Natsuno's lips.

"Friends don't keep secrets from each other."

Tohru sighed,

"You know Natsuno, there are some things that friends talk to each other about while there's things that they don't talk about too. They don't talk about _everything_."

Natsuno stayed quiet again,

"Would you stop giving me the silent treatment already?"

He still didn't speak.

"...I think I know what your problem is."

Natsuno seemed to twitch slightly but _still_ stayed silent,

"You're jealous aren't you? You saw me and Megumi kissing outside today and now you're jealous of me."

Tohru knew that would get a reaction, whether it was good or bad. Natsuno looked over to him rather quickly and sat up straight,

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Tohru smirked playfully,

"You heard me. I know that you're glad Ritsuko turned me down the other day and now you're jealous because another girl likes me and not you."

Natsuno thought for a moment, jealous? Why the hell would he be jealous? He wasn't interested in Ritsuko and especially not in Shimizu. She was a freak!

"Do you really think I'd be jealous of you?"

"Of course! No girl seems to like you other than Megumi. Now that she's interested in me and not you, I think it's obvious that you'd be upset."

Natsuno was visibly upset by Tohru's comment, did he really think that low of him? Even if he was jealous there was no way that he'd show it in front of a friend, it was one of the worst things that he could do. Unfortunately, Natsuno's emotions were getting the better off him – he wasn't thinking rationally any more and didn't realise Tohru was only teasing him to get answers about his reaction.

"Natsuno, you already had so many chances to get with Megumi and you blew it. She wasn't going to wait around for you forever."

Natsuno rose to his feet, glaring at Tohru in a way he'd never seen before. His eyes looked cold and harsh yet at the same time they almost had the look that someone did when they were hurting. Maybe Tohru had pushed it too far...

"Look, buddy..-"

"Do you really think I'd wanna be with that stalker freak?"

Tohru stood up too, he didn't want Natsuno to leave in such a bad mood. That and it had started to rain outside again.

"Don't even bother Tohru, just... just leave me alone"

Natsuno didn't notice that one of the bags he'd been carrying had split and it's contents had conveniently spilled out onto the floor. Tohru suddenly realised that he'd taken his teasing a little too far.

"Natsuno wait.."

Tohru grabbed Natsuno's arm only to have it shaken off,

"Don't touch me!"

Tohru tried to grab him again but Natsuno wouldn't let him,

"I said don't touch me Tohru!"

Natsuno was surprised when Tohru suddenly moved in front of him and pushed him backwards as hard as he could. Natsuno stumbled and grabbed Tohru's arm for support,

"H-Hey!"

* * *

Aoi and Tomatsu were sitting downstairs together when they both heard a rather loud thump from upstairs. Aoi looked over to her brother with slight concern.

"Natsu looked pretty angry when he came in today, you don't think they're fighting do you?"

Tomatsu waved his hand slightly in dismissal,

"They could be, but I don't think it would be anything serious. You've seen them argue before, it'll all be forgotten by tomorrow"

Aoi sighed quietly,

"Guess you're right... if I hear anything else I'll go and check on them."

* * *

Natsuno was still winded from his fall when he felt something looming over him, he opened his eyes slowly only to see that he'd managed to pull Tohru down on top of him and they'd landed on his bed! He tried to move out from under him, still protesting that he should leave but Tohru had him pinned down by his shoulders. Why? Natsuno's movements became more frantic, he tried to move his legs and wiggle out from underneath his friend but he could but still couldn't move!

"T-Tohru-chan.. let me up dammit!"

Tohru shook his head slowly,

"Not until you admit that you're jealous..."

Natsuno looked up at Tohru. He'd only just noticed how close they were to each other... he stopped struggling under Tohru's grip and relaxed. He glanced away momentarily,

"I'm not jealous of you... I'm just.."

His voice trailed off quietly as he thought about the situation. He wasn't jealous of _Tohru_, he was jealous of the girls going out with Tohru wasn't he? Tohru relaxed his grip on Natsuno's shoulders and slowly moved his hand towards Natsuno's face. For the first time, he looked so vulnerable and defenceless; the guard that he'd worked years to build up against people was crumbling away quicker than he could've ever imagined. Natsuno flinched as Tohru's fingers gently brushed against his cheek.

"You are, I can tell."

Natsuno looked back at Tohru again, he usually hated it when people touched him but with Tohru it was a different story. His touch made him feel warm and strangely happy... he'd never experienced it around anyone else, so why did Tohru make him feel this way? It was so frustrating! Tohru smiled softly as he leaned down towards Natsuno, slowly closing the gap between them. He knew this wasn't right... they were both guys weren't they? Think of how the people in Sotoba would react, let alone his parents! Natsuno didn't really seem to care though, he closed his eyes slowly; as if on instinct and titled his head upwards. Their noses grazed before their lips touched softly for a brief moment. Tohru's lips were soft and warm, almost like his smile. Natsuno slowly became more brave and slowly decided to return Tohru's affection with several small yet chaste kisses on the lips. Tohru almost chuckled, Natsuno's inexperience was showing but he was so cute...

It took determination but after several minutes of this 'display of his affection', Tohru pulled away from Natsuno and looked at his friend. Natsuno's cheeks were flushed as he opened his eyes again slowly. Tohru chuckled and stood up, leaving Natsuno to recover for a moment.

"Tohru-chan.."

Tohru looked back at Natsuno who was now sitting up but still flushed.

"So what if I'm jealous?"

Natsuno was staring at the floor again, he seemed to be developing a rather nasty habit of doing that when he was embarrassed... Tohru was going to answer Natsuno but decided that he could play with him a little bit more before he left for the day, he was going to give him the silent treatment.

"T-Tohru-chan..?"

Tohru started picking up Natsuno's things off of the floor and packed them into the bags that he'd bought into his room, easily ignoring him but finding hard not to reply to that innocent sounding voice. Natsuno stood up, he could see what Tohru was doing, he'd decided to give him a taste of his own medicine and give him the silent treatment hadn't he? Natsuno watched Tohru packing his bags for him. Had that kiss meant anything to him? Who just gets up and doesn't say anything after something like that?

"Tohru-Chan!"

Tohru still ignored Natsuno, he picked up the bags and walked over to him with a small smile on his face.

"I've got your things for you, they're pretty heavy aren't they?"

Natsuno felt vexed, was he actually taking the piss out of him? He snatched the bags away from Tohru and dropped them on the floor again.

"Oi, I just packed those for you!"

* * *

Tomatsu had gone outside for a breath of fresh air but Aoi was still sitting in the living room when she heard another thump from upstairs. This one wasn't as loud but she was getting worried. Tohru wasn't a violent person but it's not like she knew if Natsuno was or not.

She made her way to the stairs and started to climb them slowly, Tohru's bedroom door was closed but if she listened carefully enough she could hear faint voices...

"You're still blushing..?"

That sounded like Tohru didn't it? She edged closer towards his room and stood outside of his door, still listening in. It's not something she'd usually do, but if it was obvious that they weren't fighting then she wouldn't bother them and would just go back downstairs.

"Why would you do that..?"

"Do what?"

Aoi carried on listening and managed to slide the door open just a bit. She peaked inside to see Tohru in front of Natsuno but nothing more, she couldn't see properly from this angle... but they looked pretty close to her...

"OI, SIS!"

Aoi jumped at Tomatsu calling her from downstairs, she jolted; giving away her position. Tohru looked back to his door to see a rather flustered Aoi trying to hide behind it. Natsuno decided to take this opportunity to leave, he needed time to get things straight in his head, he grabbed his bags and pushed past Tohru, ignoring Aoi and making his way downstairs as quickly as he could with Tohru following him.

"Natsuno wait!"

Natsuno stopped by the Mutou's front door,

"Just... give me some time to think Tohru..."

Tohru decided to let Natsuno leave, he didn't want to make things any more awkward than they already were. Tohru opened the door for him and watched him leave quietly. Maybe he shouldn't have kissed him after all...

* * *

**A/N: **_Chapter 4 is up at last... sorry this took so long to write & sorry if it's a bit bad lol, I'm not all that confident in my own work..._

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**Next chapter preview:** _Natsuno & Tohru are musing over what happened between them. Was it just a mistake?_**  
**


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